[Artemisia] Peeps Occupy National Trust Headquarters. Your Help Needed to Recoup Ransom Payment.

[Allen Hall]

Good Dame Bronwen,

At last Peeps have taken control of their destiny and established their proper place in history!   Power to the Peeps!

It took much courage to take the reins of power into their sticky little hands, but their inherent sweetness overcame their oppression.  This has been a long time coming!

Confectionately yours,

Alan

From: richardslj at bresnan.net
To: DukeAlan at q.com
CC: artemisia at lists.gallowglass.org
Subject: Fw: Peeps Occupy National Trust Headquarters.  Your Help Needed to Recoup Ransom Payment.
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 23:22:42 -0600




National Trust for Historic Preservation



 
Greetings unto His Grace, Duke Alan 
Youngforest,
and Salutations to my dear friend; 
from HE Dame Bronwen of Irenwold,
on this lovely eve, April 1, in the CE 2010.
 
I just knew that you would want to be informed 
that 'someone's' Peeps were running amuck - again.  It appears that hostage 
negotiations have been completed and now just need to be implemented.  It 
just seemed proper to let you know right away since you are known 
to be held in such exalted aclaim by these little pink terrorists - err - 
small pink tarts - ummmm - cute pink confectionery critters (whew!).  I 
know that you, with your vast knowledge of Peeps, will be able to render the 
National Trust into safe and secure hands.
 
Yours in noble service to the cause,
        
    Bronwen
 

 



  
  
    
  
    
      
      

Dear Friends,

      
        
        
          
        
          Peeps storm the lobby from the 
            David Finley Memorial Retunda
      At approximately 8:15 EDT this morning a band of 
      pink Peeps stormed our National Historic Landmark headquarters in 
      Washington, DC and took control of our offices.  Staff at the front 
      desk were caught off guard by the cute confectionery cabal and before 
      security could be called, the Peeps had secured several key areas in the 
      building, including the boardroom, the mailroom and President Richard 
      Moe’s office.

      
        
        
          
        
          Peeps state their demands from the 
            podium of the boardroom.
      Staff was herded into the Board Room where the 
      Peeps made their demands -- namely more recognition for places related to 
      the history of Peeps, a miniature downloadable “This Place Matters” sign 
      on www.preservationnation.org 
      and a ransom payment of $500,000.

After several hours of tense 
      negotiation between the Peeps and our crack Legal Defense Fund Staff, we 
      were able to convince the Peeps of our commitment to the fact that their 
      places matter too and secure the return of our headquarters in return 
      for:


      

      
        Peep led sessions on “Peeps on Main Street” at 
        our upcoming Main Street Conference in Oklahoma City and “Peep 
        Places that Matter” at our National Preservation Conference in Austin next 
        October. 
        A link to their history at www.marshmallowpeeps.com/ 
        and a promise to advocate with the National Register of Historic 
        Places to create a special confectionery category of the National 
        Register. 
        As many “This Place Matters” signs as they could 
        carry. 
        A reduced ransom payment of $200,000, which we 
        promised to pay out of our winnings from American 
        Express’ TakePart competition (vote now!)

      
        
        
          
        
          During the three hour ordeal, no 
            corner of the landmark building was safe from occupation, not even 
            President Richard Moe's office.
      With those concessions, the Peeps backed down and 
      the staff hostages were released.  (It also helped that it was 
      several hours after lunch.  The staff hostages were getting pretty 
      hungry and the Peeps were starting to look less like terrorists and more 
      like a tasty snack.) The Peeps were then given a tour of headquarters and 
      allowed to shoot souvenir “This Place Matters” photos before heading back 
      to their own headquarters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

After the 
      ordeal had ended, General Counsel and Legal Defense Fund head Paul Edmondson was quoted saying 
      “We are pleased to recognize the history of the Peeps, who are indeed 
      ‘historic,’ having been invented in 1954.  However, if we don’t win 
      the American Express TakePart competition, the $200,000 ransom payment 
      will be an unexpected hit on our bottom line – one that will impact our 
      ability to respond to other candies yearning to have their heritage 
      recognized.”

I’m sure you – like all of us at the National Trust 
      for Historic Preservation – are relieved that the standoff 

      
        
        
          
        
          A Peeps spokesperson was quoted 
            after the ordeal saying "We feel kinda bad about the whole $200,000 
            thing.  Vote today at www.takepart.com/membersproject. 
            and help the National Trust for Historic Preservation win it 
            back."
      ended with no shedding of blood (or food 
      coloring).  And like us, I am sure that you are wondering how you can 
      help us ensure that we are able to fulfill our promise to pay the $200,000 
      ransom payment.

We need YOU to help us win the $200,000 in American 
      Express’ Members Project promotion.  Your vote 
      today (and once a week between now and May 24th) will make the 
      National Trust whole and allow us to put this traumatic incident behind us 
      without losing any important programmatic momentum.

Thank you for 
      your support.

Dolores McDonagh
Vice 
      President Membership

Vote 
      NOW!

P.S.  We hope you enjoyed this April 
      Fools TakePart voting message.  It was, of course, all in good fun 
      and no Peeps (or lawyers) were harmed in the making of this message.  
      And while we were joking about the Peeps, we’re serious about the voting 
      thing.  Please vote 
      now and once a week until May 24th to help the National Trust for 
      Historic Preservation win $200,000 in American Express’ Members Project 
      promotion. 

  
    
      National 
      Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusetts Avenue, 
      NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-588-6000 / 
      800-315-6847
members at nthp.org / 
      http://www.preservationnation.org/Update Your Email 
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